Long-standing rift between Godolphin and Coolmore ends with €1.2M purchase at Goff's Sales in Kildare

One of the most important purchases in the history of Goff's Sales occurred on Tuesday, as the Goldolphin operation finally ended a long-standing rift with the Coolmore Stud by purchasing a filly of the famed sire Galileo.

The sale at the Kildare venue was the talk of the racing world last night as Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin team splashed out €1.2 million on lot number 35 for the one-year-old filly, who is also the offspring of Grade 2 winning mare L'Amour de Ma Vie.

It brought to an end the long-standing boycott that Sheikh Mohammed has of refusing to buy offspring of horses from their great rivals in Coolmore, an operation ran by the wily John Magnier. It goes back as far as 2005 when Godolphin pulled out of bidding for a Coolmore filly at the Keeneland Sales in Kentucky.

Godolphin began buying yearlings that were the offspring of Coolmore horses in the last number of weeks, but the huge fee paid out after a bidding war between John Gosden - representing Godolphin - and MV Magnier, John's son, appears especially significant.

Galileo has been Champion Sire in eight of the last nine seasons, and Coolmore have been regular buyers of their own offspring, so they will be miffed to have lost out to Godolphin on this filly.

Sheikh Mohammed is yet to land a Derby winner, but the fact that his operation has now bought the offspring of Galileo will enhance his chances greatly.

The second highest purchase on Tuesday was a filly of Invincible Spirit, the best performing sire at the National Stud in Kildare, and the Cheveley Park Stud paid €580,000 for her.